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A Dove In My Youth & A Sceptic Now

I was a Dove in my youth. When my body and life were on the line during Vietnam, I opposed the war. My academic training (International Relations: Politics, Philosophy and Military Strategy) led me to believe that the war couldn’t be won.

Forget the greater morality of war; what’s the narrower morality of sending our young to kill and die after we know a war’s lost? As John Kerry asked before Congress back then, “How do you tell the last man to die that he died for a mistake?” It was a great question then and it still is.

I wondered back then how mostly old and mostly men could send the young to kill and die in vain? Did it become easier to forget the true costs, the blood costs when your blood was no longer at risk? I’m afraid that for many, the answer is yes. Many in my generation now say, “Well, we have to do something. We have to maintain our credibility. We can’t let other nations believe they can flout our will. We’re America and we can’t back down—even when our rhetoric outpaced our reason and we find ourselves supported only on the sidelines.”

I’m not a pacifist. I believe that sometimes we do have to fight. But as Obama, who prematurely received, and did not earn, the Nobel Peace Prize, said, in the seemingly distant past, a past beyond his own memory, that he was against “dumb wars.” Wars of choice not necessity.

Not having been attacked, without the support of the UN or even NATO, this is a war of choice. This war, we claim isn’t designed to depose or even cripple Assad. We claim that this war isn’t really a war—just some kind of kinetic action and will be over soon. Launching missiles at a sovereign nation is an act of war—and this act of war is not designed to succeed militarily, but only to save face and maintain credibility.

When I was younger and a hunter, I belonged to the NRA. I was trained in firearms and defense. I was taught that you don’t draw a weapon as a threat but only if you’re prepared to shoot. I was trained that if it’s serious enough to draw and shoot, it must be serious enough to kill. You don’t shoot to scare. You don’t shoot to wound. Brandishing a gun without serious purpose is a good way to get killed.

We’re about to go to war to “fire a shot across the bow” of Assad? We’re going to war to teach him a lesson and send him a message? We can’t send a message with this limited strike. I can make a case for going after Assad. I can make a case for not getting involved in a civil war where we refuse (for good reason) to pick sides. I can’t make a good case, or any logical case, for this plan.

This is a war that comes more from a rhetorical blunder rather than the real atrocities committed by Assad, a war that has neither a clear objective nor a coherent plan. Okay, I’ll concede it’s virtually impossible to have a coherent plan if you don’t have a clear objective.

No, this isn’t Iraq but it’s framed by the same rhetoric and empty promises: “This will be limited. We understand that this will contain the war but if we don’t act, it will spread. This will not be quagmire. The Arab neighbors will pay for it. We can’t back down or we’ll look weak. Our enemies have weapons of mass destruction that threaten our security.”

Our government is trying to start a mighty chorus of All We Are Asking is Give War a Chance. They’ve used every trope save “We don’t want the next cloud drifting over Manhattan to be a cloud of Sarin.” But it’s still early in the debate and the rhetoric is rising.

Unfortunately the president has drawn a line in the sand. At this point, not following through May be more harmful to our international relations with some of our allies and send the wrong message to our enemies. If there is one lesson to be learned, don’t draw lines in the send and don’t tell anyone to “read my lips”. Always plan for a change in plans.

Jack

Well said!! Happy to see you haven’t forgotten your firearm teachings. It is a shame our leaders don’t know or understand the same tenets. A “shot across the bow” will only be the opening sally for WWIII and we will all lose and our “leaders” will look at each other and ask Wha’ Happen?”.

Rose M. Parsons

I think you have spoke from the heart of the majority of the people. Sure what has been done in Syria is terrible, our actions could make it even worse.